26 nations from ‘Coalition of Willing’ ready to deploy troops in Ukraine to guarantee peace under ceasefire
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said they would impose further sanctions with the US if Russia continues to refuse peace talks.
"If Russia continues to refuse concrete peace talks, ... then we will impose additional sanctions together with the United States and provide clear responses to this refusal to move forward," Macron said after a Coalition of the Willing meeting followed by a phone call with US President Donald Trump.
He noted that as the Coalition of the Willing states, they have also decided to coordinate their actions on primary and secondary sanctions against Russia, meaning direct sanctions on the Russian economy, along with secondary sanctions on countries that support the Russian economy or help to circumvent sanctions.
"26 countries have committed to deploying, as a reassurance force, troops in Ukraine or to being present on land, at sea, or in the air, to provide this reassurance to Ukrainian territory and to Ukraine itself, the day after a ceasefire or peace agreement," Macron also announced.
He clarified that the force will not wage any wars against Russia but rather guarantee peace under a ceasefire.
"It will be deployed within the framework of a ceasefire, not on the front line but in areas currently being defined. Its aim is to prevent any new major aggression and to clearly involve the 26 states in Ukraine’s long-term security," Macron explained.
Reiterating the need for "strong security guarantees" to Ukraine, he voiced their readiness to commit politically and militarily.
"In the next few days, we are finalizing American support. But it has now become clear that all members of the coalition — European volunteers, but also Asian, Pacific, and Canadian members — have taken on their responsibilities," Macron added.
He further underscored that the first pillar of the security guarantees is providing the means for regeneration of the Ukrainian army and reiterated the need for accelerating the production, particularly drones, on Ukrainian soil.
"Now, the next steps are simple. There will be renewed contacts between Americans and Russians. And we all share a clear determination: that the meetings which were agreed upon, and to which the Russians committed several weeks ago, must become a reality — the physical bilateral summit between the two presidents, as well as the trilateral and quadrilateral summits that we are once again calling for," Macron noted.
